Whose life is it anyway?

I realized that it has been over several months since my last post. My sincere for the next 5 minutes apologies for the lack of update. Yours truly tries very hard to believe that everything from the weather to yesterday’s nasi lemak directly caused me to not blog?

Anyway, with my calendar cum schedule on my desk as I type this, I’ll try to regurgitate what little remnants of my memory for the past few months. . .

Well, let’s see. After the terrible performance in the year end exams, I somewhat turned into a book lizard… book worm you say? well unlike the worm, throw and book at a lizard and the lizard.. runs away. whee~

The month of october, my retainers are now only worn at night from here on. Finally I can parade my 2 rows of white charm without the hindrance of metal detector detectables comensalizing on them. I can’t believe my friends only noticed this metamorphosis one week after the change. zzzz.

Oh yea, I participated in the MBSSKL closed chess competition. I led my group of myself and 3 girls into the 2 day competition. In the end, everyone did well and we managed to snag 2nd place. We only missed 1st place by half a point but it was ok. I would say that Melia’s performance was most admirable. Despite her earlier losses, she stayed calm and in the end managed to emerge as the best girl player. Ichibanne! Later during the prize giving ceremony I was somewhat elated, despite the fact that the medal that was awarded was one made of plastic and poor quality silver paint, this was the first time I actually received any medal for chess, as well as the first time I receive the type of medal that people put on necks. Basked in fame for about 5.204 seconds in front of the camera with Mr Wong. After that the paint on my medal started to corrode. . lol

Hari Raya appeared.

During the holidays I attended 2 chess training sessions organized by the school. below are some notes I jot- ted:

MR GRANDMASTER WHO REPRESENTED MALAYSIA SAYS:

I will not repeat

1. The aim of the game - always remember, capture the kind by any piece possible: check check check checkmate

2. Every piece has a different power

3. Chess is a game of the mind - concentration is important for knowledge utilization

4. King is powerful at end game; definition of end game when all that is left is pawn n king

5. Queen’s power, any direction and number of moves

6. Rook is better than bishop because it can cover both white and black squares

7. Knight’s movement is white tile to black tile to white tile, so be careful not to get forked by it. It can fork up to 7

8. Bishop is slightly better than knight because it can capture the knight when it’s stuck at the side of the board.

9. The pawn has some powers, namely: promotion, en passant and move 2 steps in beginning

10. The middle square is important because it allows any piece to travel the shortest distance to anywhere else.

11. Kingside castle is defensive

12. Queenside castle is offensive, but because king is nearer the centre, it is more vulnerable

13. At the beginning the king is a baby, but it will grow up to become powerful later

14. Learn fool’s mate

15. The best defence is a good offence

Links: www.fide.com www.worldchessnetwork.com www.bestinchess.com

On the 2nd day.. continuation

1. When playing, make sure every move has meaning, don’t simply move. The more questions you ask, the more answers you get.

2. Think about the objective of each move

3. Don’t defeat the purpose of freeing pieces by not mobilizing

4. Concentration

5. Don’t waste moves - never make same move more than twice

6. When you defend you can never win

7. Queen is an attacking piece not defending

8. Don’t defend a pawn with a piece

9. Connected pawns are important for end game

10. Knight can multiple fork

11. Pin = immobilize fork - 1 attack 2 … scewer - attack front piece back piece lose

12. Make sure all your pieces are protected

13. Can never win if pieces don’t come out

14. 6 rank pawns = powerful = rook cannot stop it

15. King and pawn square measure = draw to win

16. Pawn run - parallel

17. No distractions during game - win with honor

18. Knight protecting knight = redundancy sometimes

19. Play both sides of the board (left right) to confuse opponent

20. Offer gambit to advance offence

21. Knight combo defends both boards plus its powerful and safe

22. Control centre square by placing knight there

23. Black play defensive first then attack

21. Castle king off early for safety and easier development

25. King side castle with knight and bishop relatively safe

26. Bishop attack board from afar

27. Aim rook at queen from afar

28. Run away from attack is better than exerting pressure on something sometimes

Well, actually number 18 - 28 were never part of the lesson, but rather what I managed to observe from the battle between Alex Gan and Mr Grandmaster. The interesting thing was, Alex won. Nicely done.

In the end of the month there was class party and Mrs Naga’s retirement. Class party was… fattening, especially the roast pork from a certain classmate. jem jem jem oh jem

November now

On the 9th we went to visit star cruise, nice ship. Inspiring and amazing architectural designs. Our guide was courteous too.

Went up the 1010 waterfall during jungle trekking on the 12th, pictures of the event are posted in my albums, adventure, nice it was

On the 14th there was another media interview at Mandarin Oriental. The reporters came, asked questions, met Sanggeet, had a fun time eating hotel food and entertaining the reporters.. time flies when you’re being interviewed.. lol

on the 15th there was the MBSSKL orchestra audition. Finally I was able to reveal the piece which I was practicing for so long - sunburst. Well, my audition went ok, didn’t expected the sight reading.. lol.. nice to see a big turn up

On the 18th was Yen Fong’s birthday. I consider myself lucky as I was able to narrowly avoid 2 accidents. Had a fun time BBQing at Fong’s place, and later we played some truth or dare in Fong’s room. lol sad sad sad, I only kena once :p

On the 19th was the start of the PJKN, it was an amazing experience for me. Besides being able to experience a glimpse of what PLKN is like, I also got to know many new good friends, as well as come to know my other friends who went with me to the camp later. Strangely, my usually unpatriotic self died after attending the camp. For me, the camp spoke to me very directly, that I’m the youth of the nation, and as the youth we are the spirit that will carve a name for this world, become the savior of mankind.. yada yada yada..

On a lighter note, the environment at Kuala Kubu Baru was really REALLY nice. It was like entering a gigantic secret garden, it was like genting highland… only better. And also during the stay with the foster family at Kampung Gedangsa… kampung life is surprisingly serene, peaceful and harmonious.. everyone is so nice to each other, and my foster family is very nice too. Lack of facilities is no biggie, and I could see that the everyone leads rather simple but contented lives.

After the camp I signed up to participate in the Anugerah Remaja Perdana. Or the Duke of Edinburgh award overseas. Currently still need to fulfill some sporting hours as well as community service to qualify for the bronze award.. at this juncture, it would appear perhaps that I"m being too active or playful for my own good considering the impending hailstorms that STPM will bring, but I do have a feeling that if I don’t join all these stuff now, I may not be able to do them ever again. . .

On the 5th of December I went to a survivor camp at Kuala Kubu Baru again. Despite tons of challenging activities, the highlight of the camp was the night owl. Where the participants were first blindfolded and then led into different spots in the jungle to spend the night alone. It was an experience I will NEVER forget. I couldn’t sleep throughout the night. Wild animals come near me, mosquitoes bug me like crazy, waiting for sunrise was really torture, and the distant roars of tigers didn’t help either. It was in short, a very good lesson about survival. This experience slashed my procrastination. Because it showed me that in order to survive, one needs to be well prepared. ..

If not, you die.

lol

Yesterday went to Chow Kit road.. the lecture about Jatidiri Malaysia at Stanford hotel was cancelled due to poor attendance. Bought a watch that was both quartz and digital and has a world map on it at a watch stall in Chow Kit road. Deja wu indeed.. this is the watch that I have been somewhat unconsciously dreaming about.. and when I saw it I just knew I had to buy it.. well, I was watch hunting anyway :p

Today went jungle trekking again as usual, with Wei Leong, Kevin, and Kok Hong. Our trek was 80 minutes this time. Kevin and Kok Hong made some japanese rice balls which were quite nice. I must learn how to make them, they’re quite filling too, and they make excellent survival rations.

rite, time to go wedding dinner.. xD chiaoz

There were Muet trial exams in the school. . . we were required to not exert noise on the examees.. lol

Once upon a time in a faraway land on earth in the milky way in the universe…

There lived a chloroplast in a cell of a leaf of a banana plant on the top of a granite mountain in China on earth in the milky way in the universe…

One day of a month in a year of a time past never to return again…

A goat was murdered.

For Murder Death Kill of the chloroplast in a cell of a leaf of a banana plant on the top of a granite mountain in China on earth in the milky way in the universe and unintentionally touching…

an aleuroplast in the same cell as the chloroplast of a leaf of a banana plant on the top of a granite mountain in China on earth in the milky way in the universe..

One day,

On the day this blog was posted,

Jia Loon decided to deposit this story into

His blog.

But of course,

you already know that.

I"m so crappy.

I know.

Went jungle trekking again today, had a lot of fun as usual.

Homework untouched, procrastinative jia loon indeed.

Transforming tomorrow into my animal skin light absorbing shoes.

GOing to have dinner soon.

Currently reading, books by Anthony Robins.

Current mood, inspired - as usual.

Had a good time on Friday’s lantern festival.

Though the academic load is high, I don’t have regrets coming to MBS for form 6.

Btw

Bio rawks.

Physic rawks

Chemistry rawks

Math rawks

PA rawks

MUET rawks

Why?

coz I didn’t fail them.

oh yea, I only intended to post the first day post of my experience online.

The rest of it… I’ll send if anyone’s interested.

I like this quote by Benjamin Disraeli:

Man is not the creature of circumstance, circumstance is the creature of man.

Inspiring.

Well said.

I hardly slept during the flight from

Hong Kong

to

Johannesburg

. Simply put, I was perhaps too excited to sleep. When our plane finally touched down we were treated to a visit to the plane’s cockpit. The controls in the cockpit were truly manifold. One could only imagine what prowess lies behind the smiles of the 2 pilots entertaining us there. After snapping some pictures, our bubbly bunch of 43 quickly left the plane. My first breath of South African air… Brrrrr…. cold!

Conversations with the other delegates were more casual now. Having met almost everyone at the

Hong Kong

international air port yesterday, we were now more at ease with each other… and consequently noisier too. It was really fun to get to know all the delegates from the other countries as everyone was so interesting and special! The social and cultural differences were no barrier to us at all. In fact, these differences elegantly peppered our curiosity towards one another. For example, the Chinese from

Hong Kong

,

China

, and

Taiwan

were quite surprised that I could converse in Cantonese and Mandarin fluently as they thought that everyone from

Malaysia

normally can only speak English and Malay. Also, most of the delegates have very interesting views about the world we live in and it was very inspiring to listen to them.

After handing over our passport and e-tickets to Miss Judy Kwan for safe keeping, we then boarded a bus and started heading towards Indaba Hotel. The bust trip was approximately 2 hours long. During that period, I was seated next to Robin Li, a delegate from

China

. Although I’m Chinese by descent, there was still something special about Chinese from the republic of

China

. Robin was very patriotic, I observed as he sang his country’s national anthem. I also got to know that during the selection period he made a presentation about how irresponsible farmers allowing their cows to graze everywhere eventually made the birds disappear as the food chain was disrupted. Well, this was something that never occurred to me. Our environment is extremely sensitive indeed. Anyway, it was here also that I started to know the South African delegates better and to be honest, I have never in my life struck up a friendship with an African or Caucasian before. So naturally, I had some prejudices initially but that quickly vanished as I realized how amazingly similar we are in so many things. So in between the laughter and fun, I managed to learn a South African card game called ‘magic 8’ too.

Time sure flies when you’re having fun. We finally arrived at Indaba hotel. The hotel was lush green and opulent with the sound of birds and colorful flora. We were ushered to a hall and there introductory speeches were given by Miss Tracey King and as well as Miss Hanneke Van DeMerve. After that was done, we received our Cathay Pacific jackets and hats, and after some light refreshments, it was time for the ice breaking sessions. In a nutshell, the icebreaking sessions were very enjoyable as it presented an opportunity for us to learn more about each other. We shared our dreams, visions, favorite food, favorite movie, ideas and much laughter as well. One of the interesting games we played was about collecting cards from other people by making them say either ‘yes’ or ‘no’. Being young and innocent teenagers we cheekily employed various tactics to get each other to say ‘yes’ or ‘no’. It was very amusing, some of the delegates just couldn’t get it, and soon lost all their cards while I personally only lost one while gaining a few. It was very nice, and the icebreaking was generally a success as it started the ball rolling. As we set off now on the bus to Botshabelo, one could easily imagine, we were as noisy as ever.

When the bus finally reached Botshabelo historical village, we were at a lost for words in awe of the wilderness around us. Long brown grass… herds of gazelles… and seemingly never ending plains was truly a sight to behold. What normally only confined to television documentaries was now right next to us. We’re finally here.

After unloading our luggage we were given the direction to our respective dormitories. My dorm was at Parkendof house, room A and my room mates were Alex from

South Africa

and Patrick from

Hong Kong

. The dormitories were very interesting. Firstly, with names ranging from ‘Manual Labor’ and ‘Eiselen’ it wasn’t very hard to remember our dorm names and secondly, the dormitories we will be staying in were apparently built by Christian missionaries roughly a century ago. Wow, to think that we’re doing more than just visiting a historical site, we’re staying in it! Anyway, the delegates were also given some rules to adhere to. Most of them normal camping rules with the exception of a few… we were repeatedly reminded to keep our rooms locked as monkeys in the area are known to intrude into them and cause a mess. We were also reminded to not feed the monkeys, or they will be shot. Ouch. Also, we were instructed to assemble near the dining hall whenever the drum was played.

Basically, because the time was already about evening, we had no time to lose. The

Hong Kong

delegates were already hard at work in the kitchen preparing a sumptuous meal while most of the other delegates were unpacking, taking showers and socializing. As the mapping of

Malaysia

will commence later that day before dinner, Sanggeet and I were preoccupied with some last minute touch-ups on the map which we will present. It seems the days are shorter during the winter as it was already quite dark despite it being only around 6pm. When the rhythm of an African drum filled the air, we all quickly made our way towards the direction of the sound. Once we have all arrived, it was time for the mapping of

Pakistan

.

It was unfortunate that

Pakistan

lost their map in the

Hong Kong

international airport but they were quick to create a new one using a big sheet of white paper. Though not as pretty they remarked, at least it will serve its purpose. It was a very entertaining mapping session by

Pakistan

and Sheri did most of the talking. Next, it was

Malaysia

’s turn to do the mapping.

With a map and flag of

Malaysia

hanging on the wall, we started the ball rolling with a brief introduction about

Malaysia

and then Sanggeet and I took turns to elaborate the certain aspects of

Malaysia

. The other delegates were quite inquisitive about

Malaysia

’s natural wonders as well as its tourist attractions. In the end, a number of delegates from the other countries expressed their interest to visit

Malaysia

one day. Of which Sanggeet and I most happily welcomed, and offered to take them around a tour too if they ever drop by.

Soon it was dinner time, a

Hong Kong

dinner to be precise. The

Hong Kong

delegates prepared an opulent dish of

Hong Kong

fried rice with pineapple and chicken. Hungry as we were, the food tasted delicious. Justin from

Hong Kong

introduced to everyone the art of using chopsticks as we were required to use chopsticks for this meal in order to truly savor the taste of the food as well as the culture. Some of the delegates had some difficulties at first but in the end, everyone learnt quickly. After the satisfying meal we took turns to watch a movie about Cathay Pacific. Next we were all allowed to return to our dormitories to retire for the night. I initially thought that we were going to sleep out for all the 7 days… thank goodness I was wrong! We had nice comfortable beds with multiple warm blankets. We were even given a hot water bag made of rubber which we were supposed to fill up with hot water and hold on to it while sleeping. After gearing myself up like an Eskimo, I reflected on today as I slowly snuggled myself into bed…

How fast time flies.. the initial euphoria aside, preparations for the event have been tremendous. Indeed, it is still kinda unbelievable though, to think that Istana Budaya would actually sponsor costumes.. that I can actually dance Zapin.. and that I’m actually a descent nasi lemak cook! xD ah.. time spreads its wings even before I begin..

I’ll be leaving Malaysia tomorrow, the plane takes off at 5.55 pm to be precise. Destination - Hong Kong, and then - South Africa. For a good 9 days I’ll be there, it’s going to be so exciting!

Throughout this time frame, anyone may check out how I’m doing by visiting this website http://www.ubungani.org/ ..

On a side note, it seems I appeared in the newspaper again.. lol

Chiaoz

Panda eyes describe me best… never ever sleep at 4 am and wake up at 4.01am.

The first week of August. Observe.

Conscientious Joyful Living, does it reflect me or what. lol

The lower 6 examinations are finally over. As Gandhi once put it, it always seems impossible until it is done. Nothing is impossible, except for the things that we have chosen not to do yet.

SMKC’s choir won 4th place. Well, at least it was better than last year. CDQ was kind enough to burn a copy of the entire choir competition event for me. All I had to do was collect it from Pn CHe Ma.

Pn Che Ma wasn’t at home when I first rang her door. Apparently she went to Shah Alam with her husband to watch a real hantu exhibition. Ghosts spooks, and the smell of death, nothing disturbs me more.

Which reminds me of the front page of Star 2 on Monday, which was filled with caricatures of hantu of manifold religion and beliefs. Amusingly unnerving, one which looked novel to me was the hantu puchong. Apparently this specific hantu was always wrapped in white cloth. The hantus will have 2 months of holidays? gee.. where did that come from

Recently I"ve come to derive joy from knowledge again. And nothing inspires me more than this picture

Yep, its a picture captured by hubble’s deep space magnification telescope. This is certainly beyond the descriptive abilities of mere words.. all these galaxies.. each illuminating glow a galaxy with trillions of stars… there is so much to learn! don’t u just get excited?

And consider the humble text books which adorn our table, with magnificient pages of information carefully researched and crafted by benevolent individuals who equated each subtopic as their live’s work. With the hope that someone else would use its knowledge and change the world for the better, yet how we sometimes find them a burden, a bothersome, cumbersome, obstacle towards the goal post of social recognition……

I would like to quote Guy Kiyosaki’s presentation. " There are 3 ways to make meaning in life - to increase the quality of life, to right a wrong, and to prevent the end of something good" How very true. For our goals to be truly meaningful then, they ought to derive certain common denominators with the mentioned 3. That aside, Guy Kiyosaki’s presentation was downright awesome. I really respect that guy for being such a good public speaker, and I certainly seek to learn from him. Don’t know what I"m talking about? check this out http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=-3755718939216161559

From his presentation too I realized a critical flawed paradigm within myself - the constant harping of creating the perfect mission statement. I’m truly grateful for such newfound knowledge.

Recently, another spindle of life that has caught my eye are the 7 deadly sins. What are the 7 deadly sins? check this out http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Seven_deadly_sins as I was reading the wiki article, and as my eyes rolled down the 7 great imperfections of men, my heart resonated with something. Yep, no wonder life stinks at times. Surprisingly it is able to serve as an excellent and simple guideline to better oneself. And its certainly more specific than the golden rule.

Mm. I finished watching the choir competition recordings. CBN wasn’t really that awesome.. their rendition of over the rainbow was actually quite pitchy, and their medley - think of me fondly, remember me.. blablabla.. was actually quite amusing in the sense that they were indirectly singing to the judges to THINK OF ME FONDLY, and REMEMBER ME.. and it was like so ugh… they won.. LoL

VI was good as usual, but this time they seemed to have overdid it perhaps.. something just didn’t click.. maybe it was the weather that day, positive songs had a fairer chance of winning… St Mary.. wow.. SO colourful, I am so speechless because they look like they just robbed bill gates, made him bankrupt and stuck all his money on themselves as costumes.. SMKC was well, aihz. the song selection.. the oomph just wasn’t there. and then there was the school I forgot what’s its name.. they were quite passionate and amusing as they sang.. MALAYSIA SUDAH BERJAYA, MALAYSIA BERJAYA, MAAAALAAAYSIIAAAA BERJAYAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA.. and then next they sang - Sing a song of sixpence a pocket full of thyme? LOL they mambo jamboed the nursery rhyme into a godzilla.. it sounded so funny especially when it came to the part of the rhyme when they were supposed to sing " the birds began to Sing!!!!!!!!!!!" THey literally pulled the ’sing’ syllable up and down 5000 piano octaves with a frequency of 10284129750197 hertz.. lol.. in conclusion.. the lesson learnt is.. emotion sells.. emotion was lacking.. in my opinion, of the other 4 choirs.. but the CBN really meant it when they sang to THINK OF ME and REMEMBER ME FONDLY.. it struck a chord with the audience and obviously the judges.. so I guess, as circumstances and the weather would have it.. they deserved to win.

I’ve recently wondered why I tend to shake my leg whenever I’m running certain thought processes in my brain. It seems, that when I understand something in class or get excited, I shake my leg.. and I notice my classmates doing that too, especially the smart ones.. so doesn’t that tell u something? LOL.. My explanation is that because the leg muscles are the biggest in the body, the rapid contraction and subsequent relaxation of the muscles activate the myoglobin in the muscles which stores oxygen, does resulting in an oxygen demand which seems to increase metabolism as well as a certain amount of dopamine release into the brain.. normally leg shaking stops when the discomfort of lactic acid build up  cancels out the pleasurable feelings from the dopamine effect.. so then, I suppose you can judge to a certain degree, the energy level for learning in a class by the frequency its students shake their legs? LoLOoLOlOlol.. pure speculations of course.. imaginary. Yet, when they are mixed with pieces of facts.. they become complex.. (think complex numbers: imaginary number + real number) an excellent example being the da vinci code.. how it has managed to play on this human feature so well to make the entire literary world dance to its tune.

http://www.chemsoc.org/timeline/pages/timeline.html

Another website filled with thought provoking imagery. A cancer fighting drug.. Imatinib.. wow, enzymes are key players in biology indeed

To sum it all up, I know I’ve flunked the monthly test. But I have discovered myself.. which was there all along.. because believing is seeing, after all.

An interesting weekend it was, filled with insights and paradigm shifts. The only thing that bugs me now is my unfinished homework. Oh dear. Anyway.

On Friday, I was priviledged enough to be entrusted by Mr Chin to the school piano. So upon completion of potato measuring in the biology laboratory, Darryn Jo Shua and I scuttled to the school hall. Carmen would join us later that day as she was having extra math lessons with Mrs Ng. The infamous piano room was as small as Yee Leng so atrociously described it. Like a giant rabbit hole on the wall with a door and padlock, piano room it is.

With a melodic snap of the padlock’s release, we were greeted by a piano, 2 floor fans, a piano chair, a piano chair platform, 2 electric sockets and a fluoresent light tube. The heat and humidity of the room was nefarious. But conditions improved when the piano was relocated outside. The piano, despite its rustic exterior and dusty interior, was of a fine quality and brand.

Darryn and Jo Shua could play the piano pretty well. Well, I wouldn’t expect anything less from anyone with grade 6 -8 in practical piano. Later Carmen joined us, and she could certainly churn out the most graceful tunes. In short, Lower 6 Kensett is generally very musically inclined. And I"m certainly convinced that their skills could be put to good use in music related competitions.

It is interesting to note that while we were hovering around the piano, several students from the upper 6 forms were practicing badminton. They were very skilled, and from the looks of it, they seem to fit the description of the few top badminton players of the school who frequently represent the school and state. It was very inspiring to watch them play.

Later that day I acquired a campbell 7th edition biology text book at the price of $83. The venue was Mukmin bookstore opposite Sogo.

On Saturday, I went to the Methodist College of Kuala Lumpur in order to attend a talk entitled Christianity and the Sciences, as well as Christianity and the Arts. It was simply awesome. The speakers were very well versed in their fields, and their presentations were insightful. I left MCKL that day with 7 pages of notes, and of course, yet a little wiser. Later that day we went to Shakey’s at Sungai Wang for lunch. It was the first time I went for an outing with my form 6 buddies. It was fun. Pizzas were yum too.

"I cannot conceive of a God who rewards and punishes his creatures, or has a will of the kind that we experience in ourselves. Neither can I nor would I want to conceive of an individual that survives his physical death; let feeble souls, from fear or absurd egoism, cherish such thoughts. I am satisfied with the mystery of the eternity of life and with the awareness and a glimpse of the marvelous structure of the existing world, together with the devoted striving to comprehend a portion, be it ever so tiny, of the Reason that manifests itself in nature."
[Albert Einstein,_The World as I See It_]

One among many quotes of Einstein from http://www.some-guy.com/quotes/einstein.html . I’m especially intrigued by Einstein’s mention of mystery, and the corelation with the fact that there is no such thing as scientific fact. If you ever doubt that, just consider that half of all the ’scientific facts’ widely accepted 25 years ago are now known to be false even by today’s kindergarden children. Since because of this, mystery is always present.

Mystery presents itself as a rather pallatable dish, filled with curiousity, and quenched only by truth.

The fluctuations of cocurriculum frenzy has finally reached an equilibrium. With 2 posts demanding leadership, 1 demanding financial skills and another 2 more demanding ‘followship’… yes I have not misspelled the word.. FOLLOWSHIP.. It feels awkward at times since I was so accustomed to leading. It deals well then that this experience should serve to expand my perspective.

I guess now, after all that’s been said and done, its time for homework.

All eyes on the game. Player A is losing like crazy despite having practiced with a frequency of 9218730197 hertz. The cameras gleefully capture every shot of downfall that permeates from player A. Meanwhile, victorious music play behind player B. Player A wished for a requiem…

In a society of castes, the intellectuals sit on everyone’s heads. Exerting a band of infinite displacement from everyone else, they often inspire nefarious stares and resentment. Expiring poison akin to sewer fumes and under the guise of humility, they subconsciously inject into anything living nearby - diminishment. Making them wish for a requiem…

I wish for a requiem, sometimes.

I wish I have something more inspiring to write at the moment but my mind is full of morbid stares. Happiness may be a state of mind but my mind isn’t exactly in a desirable state at the moment. Preparing for STPM takes planning, dedication, initiative, and hardwork. Yet how these things elude me. Racial statistics of local university admissions run me over like a truck. Yet how well I am still able to fake this motivation to study. Opportunities to affect change past me by. Yet how well I’m taking it. I feel like I’m choking, drowning in my own blood. Now I understand what Chan Kong meant about the feeling of drowning in the middle of an ocean…

It will be so easy if I just said,

I chose to be miserable.

Hmm.. on second thought that does have truth to it.. let’s see what other things I chose.

- I chose to not live by a set of personal rules

- I chose to delay understanding in class lessons, not revising everyday, believing that revising too early will lead to me forgetting it later on

- I chose to not follow a study schedule

- I chose to not do the important things as soon as possible in an organized manner

- I chose to spend 80% of my time thinking of inspiring aphorisms that might miraculously ‘cure’ my situation

- I chose to not take direct responsibility for my actions, subconsciously holding a banner that writes ‘ignorance is bliss’

- I chose to ignore common sense and be pulled by strings of the social mirror

And above all, I chose to pretend I did not make all these choices at all.

No wonder I’m miserable.

and to think.. the irony of it all……………….

…

I CHOSE to wonder WHY I’m miserable..

lol

-

The supreme power of choice…  last time I wielded it, almost brought about armageddon. But I suppose I should’ve learnt from past mistakes.. improve my knowledge and skill of wielding this power.. and with time convert it into a force that will accelerate me towards my dreams.

Yea I know I initially wished for a requiem but I do not wish to die yet.

dream as if you’ll live forever, live as though you’ll die today…

Enough of wishing.

It’s about time I accept my responsibilities. Herein lies the beauty of choking.

The world’s oldest living organism is a tree!

I knew it all along. Trees are the secret to immortality, and the elixir of life lies within - the vacuoles! lol

I only slept for 4 hours today. The human body is such an amazing thing. I should expect to feel lightly lethargic throughout this delish day. Then again, maybe not. I always feel very lethargic whether the day is delish or not.

Euphoria. Another step closer towards achieving my dreams. The civic and charity society. We’re going to make a difference! Big expectations.

The smell of death. Bug abdomens unsheathed to reveal the rotting innards. At the time, the smell of rot strikes a dischord with my mental pathways - a dischord like a C# in a C major scale, or a leper amputee punching an ivory piano… you decide! But the bottomline is, death stinks. Add formaline to this evil concoction and one could almost sense Sauron’s presence. (and floating wraiths nearby)

Sweet appeal of dim sum. How you elude me. And all other sumptious food for that matter. These days, all I seem to be able to insert in my mouth looks, smells, and tastes like molotov cocktails. My episodic food memory recalls nothing but sushi… california temaki, inaris, *drools*

Process. The principle of the achievement of everything, this is what it takes. Process. The road from point A to point B may be long, but as the Arabians would have it, a thousand miles journey begins with a single step - and can only be taken one step at a time. One has got to salute their determination though. I bet they used this aphorism to drive themselves through these water forsaken, unhumid and dry deserts. lol. But seriously, redundancy aside, the principle of process is a universally validated one.. and the fact that many people have abided to it and achieved great success, shows how we have the choice to do likewise…

Ah.. aphorisms, these escrows of motivation and truth. How you have run through the ages of men, making lacrimal fluid flow, erythrocytes spill, and food taste oolala. ( I think I’m hungry)

Its just a senseless post. It doesn’t take a genius to figure out that yours truly fresh from bed has the mental sharpness of a tree.. make that a methuselah for that matter. But yea, this is how I chose to start my day today.

Its evident that I’m forgetful. The reason for posting has finally whacked me.

Italy won the world cup!

Yea that’s it, off to school now.. ~

Like dancers on a stage, the grey and white clouds parade themselves on that infinite expanse which we call the sky, to the rescue of boredom inflicted upon CJL by Friday Morning MBSSKL assemblies. CJL ponders as usual, the best things in life are indeed free…

Ah, I’m still waiting for that confirmation letter from cathay pacific =D. Thanks a lot for the support guys! if all goes well there’ll be plenty of African Mud to go around..  whee~.. lolz jk of coz.. I’m sure u guys will prefer pictures =)

Speaking of South Africa, I recall a tiny piece of childhood memory. A memory begotten from a time when my imagination ran free, like the deers upon the forests so lush and green… skipping happily munching grasshoppers.. (the deers, not me)

Although I’ve always recalled wanting to become a judge or an actor… after watching too many justice PAO movies (and witnessing the fun of cutting people’s heads off with a giant knife with lion engravings on it) on 10.30pm  weekdays on Metro Vision,  I’ve once also aspired to become an Ambassador! =)

I would once dream.. of going to faraway places, forging high level diplomatic relations with people of other countries.. of staying in a bungalow at a Jalan Duta equavalent somewhere among the other 191 countries of the world.. of sharing my knowledge to others and receiving from them likewise.. of contributing towards human synergy.. and making more friends! I was like about.. 6 years old back then? lol..

And then I realized.. I’ve never seen any Malaysian Chinese ambassadors to date… so, there goes another dream.. as I prepared to surrender my preschool life to the Malaysian education system.. and see where I would fall into society..  this obtuse binomial distribution..

Believe it or not, this is a dream come true! 12 years ago this young man could’ve never imagined in his wildest dreams that he’d become an ambassador for Malaysia.. even if its just for 9 days.. this is truly a blessing from God! =)

I will do my best.

anyway, Here is a cool link to something Han Sheng created http://cathaypacificwildernessworkshop06.blogspot.com/.. check it out =D

Form 6 orientation is done!

I could vividly recall my final signature pursuit… the target was.. the bubbly sportswoman Seaw Yoong! Through the hot, humid, and CO2 saturated atmosphere of the MBS canteen, sweating profusely, I dashed into the canteen, patiently spotting a bunny-like smiling face, awaiting the dear sportlady’s sympathy level to reach its activation point.. which was really high, since it was like, the zillionth time I’m asking her to sign my orientation book.. lol

After singing bah bah black sheep in the canteen, it was mission accomplished. I’ve finally completed the orientation thingy!.. Thank God it went well.. =) .. and I think I learnt some stuff about the characters of the upper 6s too. The most memorable orientation task has got to be from Aaron who asked me to quote the bible, John 3:16.. to be honest I wasn’t 10% sure about it.. but like a Godsend, I remembered the inscriptions on the rostrum of metro tabernacle.. and the quote was completed word for word.. its a miracle!

Anyway.. studies have become interesting again! It’s so amazing when one could relate the sciences and the math to the world around us =D.. how science allows us to understand the world around us and give us an understanding as sweeet as honey.. yet I also realized something.. that this sense of joy vanishes into thin air whenever one is FORCED TO STUDY… so the lesson here is, interest happens when study is on one’s own accord.. study has got to be an autotelic activity, and autotelic activities are what we come to know as leisure.

Well, its time to face the music, Crescendo, CREScendo, CRESCENDO!